5 Ways to Keep a Relationship With Your Kids Post Divorce

5 Ways to Keep a Relationship With Your Kids Post Divorce

Maintaining a positive relationship with your children following a divorce should be your number one goal. It is easy to get wrapped up in the emotions and turmoil that a divorce inherently causes and to allow those negative emotions to impact your behaviors and interactions with your children. However, if you truly want to maintain a good relationship with your children following your divorce from your child’s other parent, here are five things you can do help you maintain that relationship:

1. Remember that your ex-spouse if your children’s other parent and a vital part of their lives. Try to avoid referring to their other parent as “your ex” or by some other derogatory name in front of your children. When you attack the other parent, you are attacking the other half of them.

2. Don’t talk badly about your former spouse or your former spouse’s family in your child’s presence, on social media, or even via text message and don’t allow anyone else to do so in the presence of your children.

3. Don’t use your children as go-betweens for you and your former spouse. Your children should be able to simply enjoy their lives as children. They did not ask to be in this situation and they surely did not ask to have to relay messages between you and your former spouse. Find a civil way to transmit messages between you that won’t be accessed by your children. All to often children access their parents phones to play games and end up accessing the messages between their parents. So, be careful what you say.

4. Keep your word to your kids. If you say you will be at their game, be there. If you are scheduled for visitation or custodial time with your children, don’t miss it and don’t be late. If you are required to pay child support, pay it on time. Don’t make your former spouse beg for support, all of that goes into keeping your word to your children and showing them you are a person with integrity that they can trust.

5. Realize your children will play the game of both ends against the middle if they can. If they realize that they can come to you and say something terrible about the other parent and that you then jump to conclusions about the other parent, they will use it to get what they want. If your child tells you the other parent has done something terrible, try speaking to the other parent about the situation first before you jump to conclusions. When possible, you and your former spouse need to appear as a united front to help the children grow up happy, healthy, and with the values instilled in them that you would want them to have.

Contact Our Huntsville Family Lawyers Today!

At New Beginnings Family Law, we understand how stressful and devastating a divorce and child custody issues can be for a family. Our team is committed to providing a caring and comfortable environment where you can feel safe to talk about your case and your goals for the future. You can trust our Huntsville family law attorneys. Contact us today!